As Idyllwild-based hotshot crew members yelled for Brent Witham to alter course, the pine tree fatally struck him in 2017 in Montana, a report says

Share this:

Firefighters pay tribute to fallen U.S. Forest Service firefighter Brent Witham during his memorial service at the National Orange Show Event Center in San Bernardino, Calif. on Thursday, Aug. 10, 2017. The 29-year-old Witham, of Mentone, died when struck by a falling tree while fighting a fire in Montana on Aug. 2, 2017. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

U.S. Forest Service personnel stand and salute as the body of fallen firefighter Brent Witham, 29, of Mentone, is transported past the Forest Service headquarters on Monday, August 7, 2017 in San Bernardino, Ca. Witham was a member of the U.S. Forest Service’s Vista Grande Hotshot who was killed August 2, 2017 while working on the Lolo Peak Fire in Montana. (Micah Escamilla, Redlands Daily Facts/SCNG)

Sound

The gallery will resume inseconds

The U.S. Forest Service Honor Guard marches during the memorial service for fallen U.S. Forest Service firefighter Brent Witham at the National Orange Show Event Center in San Bernardino, Calif. on Thursday, Aug. 10, 2017. The 29-year-old Witham, of Mentone, died when struck by a falling tree while fighting a fire in Montana on Aug. 2. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Vista Grande Hotshot Capt. Earl Wilson, left, is embraced during the memorial service for fallen U.S. Forest Service firefighter Brent Witham at the National Orange Show Event Center in San Bernardino, Calif. on Thursday, Aug. 10, 2017. The 29-year-old Witham, of Mentone, died when struck by a falling tree while fighting a fire in Montana on Aug. 2. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Firefighters pays tribute to fallen U.S. Forest Service firefighter Brent Witham during his memorial service at the National Orange Show Event Center in San Bernardino, Calif. on Thursday, Aug. 10, 2017. The 29-year-old Witham, of Mentone, died when struck by a falling tree while fighting a fire in Montana on Aug. 2. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

The U.S. Forest Service Honor Guard pays tribute to fallen U.S. Forest Service firefighter Brent Witham during his memorial service at the National Orange Show Event Center in San Bernardino, Calif. on Thursday, Aug. 10, 2017. The 29-year-old Witham, of Mentone, died when struck by a falling tree while fighting a fire in Montana on Aug. 2. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

The U.S. Forest Service Honor Guard marches during the memorial service for fallen U.S. Forest Service firefighter Brent Witham at the National Orange Show Event Center in San Bernardino, Calif. on Thursday, Aug. 10, 2017. The 29-year-old Witham, of Mentone, died when struck by a falling tree while fighting a fire in Montana on Aug. 2. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Firefighters pay tribute to fallen U.S. Forest Service firefighter Brent Witham during his memorial service at the National Orange Show Event Center in San Bernardino, Calif. on Thursday, Aug. 10, 2017. The 29-year-old Witham, of Mentone, died when struck by a falling tree while fighting a fire in Montana on Aug. 2. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

The Idyllwild-based U.S. Forest Service hotshot crew member who was killed in 2017 when a tree struck him in Montana inadvertently tried to escape directly in the unexpected path the tree was falling, Forest Service reports published this year said.

Brent M. Witham, 29, was a resident of Mentone and a graduate of Redlands East Valley High. He had been a member of the Vista Grande hotshot crew for two years and a Forest Service firefighter for six.

U.S. Forest Service firefighter Brent Witham. (Courtesy of U.S. Forest Service)

cutting down a tree that suddenly fell. The impact caused broken bones and internal injuries. He died within minutes. Before releasing the reports, the Forest Service had not previously said that Witham was felling the tree or explained why he was hit.

Witham’s death, like all Forest Service fatalities, resulted in a number of reports.

The lessons-learned report examined the culture within the Forest Service, firefighting in an environment that produces more intense fires, communications and supervisors’ qualifications.

The field report, through discussions with a focus group and interviews with firefighters, administrators and academic specialists, assessed tree-cutting techniques, escape routes and safety equipment.

The narrative report looked at the overall firefighting strategy of the Lolo Peak fire, the placement of medics in relation to firefighting operations, the events that led to Witham’s death and the attempts to save his life.

Tree falls unexpectedly

Witham was a qualified sawyer — someone who cuts down trees — in the hotshot crew. The 20-member crews, which undergo exhausting physical training, hike into or are dropped into remote areas to carve fire breaks into forests, usually with just the equipment they can carry.

On the day of his death, Witham was in one of four two-person teams tasked with cutting down dead trees along a road that was to be used as a fire break. About 2:30 p.m., he sized up a 50-foot-tall and 15-inch diameter whitebark pine that was standing mostly straight up and decided to cut it so it would fall downhill into an opening.

Witham cut the tree in the front and the back, wielding a chainsaw and swinging an ax. He then appeared satisfied with the construction of what’s known as the hinge wood, the wood left uncut that guides the direction of the falling tree. It is imperative that the hinge wood remain intact until the tree starts to fall, the narrative report said.

Witham then pounded two wedges into the tree. As Witham struck the second wedge, crew members heard a loud pop, which later was determined to be the hinge wood breaking. The tree began to fall, not downhill in an 11 o’clock direction as Witham intended, but uphill in a 7 o’clock direction.

Witham, after pausing, ran uphill, in the 45-degree angle that is recommended in Forest Service escape route guidelines.

“As Brent ran up his escape route, fellow crewmembers of Vista Grande IHC that stood nearby began shouting to Brent to run the other way. While we will never know what Brent was thinking at the time, the pause he took suggests that what was occurring was unanticipated and that he was trying to make sense of it all,” the narrative report said.

The tree struck Witham 28 feet from where he had been cutting. The force of the blow knocked his helmet a dozen feet away.

“We’ve had a tree strike with a serious injury; you need to order a medevac ship immediate,” the Vista Grande captain radioed.

Crew members initially detected a pulse, but nine minutes later, they began CPR. Medics arrived about 2:45 p.m., and by the time Witham arrived at a helicopter landing spot, CPR had been underway for 35 minutes. A decision to stop lifesaving efforts was made at 3:11 p.m.

“The Forest Supervisor said the news came like a ‘punch in the gut,’ ” the narrative report said.

Witham was honored with a procession on Aug. 7 and a memorial service Aug. 10 at the National Orange Show Events Center in San Bernardino that was attended by about 1,500 family members, firefighters and local, state and federal officials. He was buried later that day at Montecito Memorial Park and Mortuary in Colton.

“I cannot thank you enough for having the courage to pursue something worth doing,” Forest Service Chief Thomas L. Tidwell said at the memorial service.

Brian Rokos writes about public safety issues such as policing, criminal justice, scams, how law affects public safety, firefighting tactics and wildland fire danger. He has also covered the cities of San Bernardino, Corona, Norco, Lake Elsinore, Perris, Canyon Lake and Hemet. Before that he supervised reporters and worked as a copy editor. For some reason, he enjoys movies where the Earth is threatened with extinction.